Sunbolt – Intisar Khanani

The winding streets and narrow alleys of Karolene hide many secrets, and Hitomi is one of them. Orphaned at a young age, Hitomi has learned to hide her magical aptitude and who her parents really were. Most of all, she must conceal her role in the Shadow League, an underground movement working to undermine the powerful and corrupt Arch Mage Wilhelm Blackflame.

When the League gets word that Blackflame intends to detain—and execute—a leading political family, Hitomi volunteers to help the family escape. But there are more secrets at play than Hitomi’s, and much worse fates than execution. When Hitomi finds herself captured along with her charges, it will take everything she can summon to escape with her life.

This was recommended to me by W.R. Gingell, one of my favorite authors, and of course the cover was done by the ever-so-talented Jenny at Seedlings Design Studio, who did our cover for Light in the Darkness and also the cover for The Lord of Dreams. I loved it – loved the characters, loved the setting, loved the prose, loved everything. It is the first book in a trilogy, so do not expect complete closure at the end. However, the book does end in a logical place; it’s an obvious transition point to a new chapter of the story and not an abrupt cliffhanger. I’m looking forward to continuing the series in Memories of Ash. Very noblebright.